John t



I UNITED ST TES JOHN TQJAGKS N,

OF DES MOINES, .IOWA, Assrenon or ONE-HALF To- P. P. INGALLS, OF SAME PLACE.

ARTIFICIAL FUEL.

SPECIFICATION forming m at Letters Patent No, 256,572, dated April 18,1882.

I Application filed July 21, 188i. (No specimensJ v 1'0 all whomit may concern? I Belt known that 1, JOHN T.JAGKSON, of

' Des ,Moines, in the county of Folk and State of Iowa, have invented an Improved Artificial Fuel, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce an artificial fuel from fibrous combustible substances thatoannot in their natural state be My invention consists in utilizing common soil as a base foruniting dry grass, weeds, straw, forestleaves, dry manure, and similar incompact and inexpensive combustible substances, and also to aid in promoting the combustion thereof and advantageously using the carbon contained in the slid fibrous and incompact' vegetable substances.

To make a given-quantity of my artificial fuel I heat inflammable-tar in a suitable tank and then fill and stir in the liquid such loose fibrous and incompact vvegetable substances as above named, and that may be obtained at a nominal cost, andabout an equal quantity of turf-mold,

prairie-muck, or any-kind of common soil that til the hot adhesiveliquid matter is absorbed and a conglomerate plastic-mass produced that. can be'rcadilypressed into blocks of various shapes and sizes by means of suitable molds. and machinery, or into flat slabs that are adapted to be broken into lumps of irregular form and size when the slabs are dry and hard.

produced the soil used as a base for uniting the fibrous incompact and incohesive substances forms a body and a cover and protection for the combustible ingredients, and aids in retaining fire and heat and promoting combustion upon the same principle that a lamp-wick facilitates the burning 0t oil advantageously to produce light and heat. I claim as my invention- I .An artificial solid fuel composed ofadhesive and inflammable tar, common soil, and incompact and incoheslve fibrous vegetable substances-such as dry grass, weeds, straw, for est-leaves, and 'manure-substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

JOHN T; JACKSON.

Witnesses:

FRED HAMPTON, R. G. Onwre'.

is practically free of sand,,clay, and gravel, un- 0 y In the practical use of my artificial fuel thus 

